Misunderstood
by smile1
Summary: KateSawyer one piece. Sawyer has a history of butting in where he isn't wanted. This time, Kate's the victim, though when he takes it too far, he gets a dose of his own medicine, reminding him that he's an outsider and that without Kate, he'd have no one.


**Disclaimer: **I don't own the series _Lost _or the original characters. All I own is my imagination and the plot.

**A/N: **Like I said, I would be back with another try at a Kate/Sawyer piece. Fortunately for me, they just started to show _Lost _again over here, though the bad news is that we are about halfway through the first season. I've been downloading a lot of my favorite Kate/Sawyer episodes though, so hopefully I'll slowly be getting better at perfecting their characters. :)

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**Misunderstood**

_''Now don't go and get the wrong impression.''_

It was at night that he watched her (the most). At night, when she thought that just because it was harder to see, no one was paying attention to her and that just because she isolated herself from everyone else, she was alone. It was during the darker hours of the day that he saw more than anyone else, never openly staring, but still looking at her too often for it to be coincidental. His excuse, there was nothing better to do, although he also found it harder and harder to keep his eyes to himself.

She was a treasure the island kept well, an uncut diamond, rough around the edges, just like him. Only he managed to keep up his brave face at night while her mask came off as soon as she had withdrawn herself back down to the beach, thinking that she was all by herself, and for most of the time, the sad face she revealed to him was enough for him to leave her in her illusion.

Tonight however, he couldn't resist the urge to break her little bubble of wistfulness; just watching her as she kept gazing down at the miniature plane she held so carefully between her fingers was slowly driving him crazy. He had nothing better to do and he knew from experience that everyone had a breaking point, it just took some time to reach it, though with her, he had all the time in the world.

He got up from his spot on the sand, not bothering to swipe off the remains as he started on his way over to her, his hands buried deep into his pockets to somewhat shield himself from the cool evening breeze, something that didn't seem to faze her the least as she sat with both her shoulders and feet bare. She didn't acknowledge him as he approached, and the only movement she made was when she was forced to take a hold of some of her unruly locks, not wanting them to get in the way of her and the small plane.

He tugged his hands from his pockets and slid down next to her in the sand. ''So, Freckles, what's with you and that toy plane of yours?'' he asked while turning his head sideways to look at her.

''Reminds me of the crash.''

''You had it before though,'' he cleverly pointed out.

She sighed and let her arms drop from her knees, annoyed as her eyes flicked over to him. ''What do you want, Sawyer?''

''Your company,'' he answered her swiftly.

''Yeah, well, I'm not in the mood for yours,'' she said, already on her way to getting up as she got on her knees.

He watched her brush off all of the sand that still clung to her, smirking as he took a hold of her arm and pulled her back towards him. She was unable to hold back a gasp as she ended up on her knees beside him, one arm against the lower part of his abdomen while the other she had braced just below his knee. ''You're just too easy, sweetheart,'' he told her in a low whisper.

She didn't look him in the eye as she hurriedly freed herself. ''Relax,'' he said as she scurried to her feet, surprised that he didn't try to stop her in any way. ''I just wanted to take a look at that precious keepsake of yours!'' he called after her, chuckling at how quick she moved out of his way, though they would see each other again soon enough, it was inevitable.

x-x-x

When Kate returned to where she had set up camp, he was nowhere to be seen, no matter how many times she scanned the beach for him, though just because she couldn't see him didn't mean that he wasn't around, because he always was. He had hid himself away beneath the even darker shades of the trees, making himself comfortable as he waited patiently for her to drift off. Once she was asleep, he reappeared and snuck over to her, having made sure that his feet were as bare as hers as he did so. The toy plane lay by her side, a foolish mistake on her side because of how easy it was for him to take it. As he tucked it into one of his pockets, he risked a few more seconds to admire how cute she really was. He lovingly smiled before turning and heading back over to his own spot on the beach.

x-x-x

The aftermath of his selfish crime was visible to him early the next morning. His eyes had darted in her direction the second he had woken up, finding her going through her stuff like a madman, coming up with everything but the plane. He watched her for a little while longer, but ironically enough didn't have the heart to watch her go through all of her stuff time and time again, knowing that she wouldn't find it. She wasted many hours, neglecting all the other things she was expected to do, only to collapse in defeat at the end of the day, accepting that she wouldn't be able to hold the toy in her hands before going to sleep. It was a crack in her routine, one he noticed later that night when she was already long asleep and he was still turning her plane over and over between his fingers.

_She had nightmares._

It felt nice to have something of hers, but at the same time something gnawed at his heart when he saw her tossing and turning in terror. He finally ended up falling asleep just as she woke up in cold sweat.

x-x-x

The next morning, she was up early again and went into the jungle in search of food, needing the distraction of another routine, though her heart wasn't in it, nor was it in anything else she did. Everyone saw it, but didn't question her sadness. Even Jack managed to keep his questions to himself, although he did seek her out later that day. He brought along a small radio, one that ran on one of the last set of batteries on the island. He placed it in front of Kate, expecting her to look up at him in wonder at the piece of equipment he had placed before her.

''Sayid came across it by accident. He thought that I could put it to good use,'' he explained while switching it on.

''Thanks, Jack, but-''

''We don't know how long the batteries will last,'' Jack went on, looking at something in the distance as he did so. ''I noticed that you haven't been yourself these past two days and thought that a distraction would do you good, get your mind off whatever it is you're dealing with,'' he said while bringing his eyes back down to hers. ''I'm not asking for a lot, Kate; I'm just asking for a dance.'' He held out his hand for her to take, pleased when she tentatively did.

He led her closer to the water, giving them more than enough room. Dancing was something she hadn't done in a long time. It wasn't something she had done a lot because her boyfriends had always been the types to take her out for a ride on their motorcycles instead of taking her out dancing. Still, she was an okay dancer, though Jack was better. She could tell by all the talking he did, while she only offered a nod or a short reply every now and then, not wanting to lose track of the count she was doing in her head.

Sawyer looked on from beneath a couple of palm trees as she put on a graceful charade for Jack, even though he could tell that she would rather be doing something else by the way she sometimes dragged her feet. Her movements even came to an abrupt stop when he made his way over to the sideline. She wanted to remove her hand from Jack's, but he wouldn't let her, not yet. He too took notice of Sawyer and looked at Kate as she looked from him to Sawyer and back again. ''Jack,'' she began, not needing his permission, but seeking it out anyway because of how used she had gotten to it.

Jack nodded and let her fingers slip from his. ''Okay.'' He stepped aside, waiting on Sawyer as he took his place before letting the two of them be, even though he didn't like Sawyer all that much. It was all a matter of respect and recognizing Kate's wishes above his own; he had always had a weak for women like her.

Sawyer now stood in front of Kate, a smile in place as he now reached out his hand for her. ''Care to dance, Freckles?''

She nodded, bringing her hand up to brush a few locks aside, self-consciously running the tips of her fingers over her freckles before lowering her hand back down as he made the first move.

Even though his hands were rough, his touch wasn't. He had a gentle way when it came to her and he thoughtfully pushed a forgotten strand of hair aside before letting his fingertips slid down her sides. He wanted to be able to look at her, he always did; he wanted her emotions to be on display (for him). He loved how easily wave after wave of emotion could hit her so unexpectedly.

_She was his distraction. _

His hands based themselves on her hips, high enough, while she slung only one arm around his neck, keeping the other tucked safely between their bodies, hesitant about the room she was giving him.

''I just couldn't resist,'' he told her. ''It seemed like a perfect opportunity to piss the good Doc off.''

''Jack's not upset,'' she defended, unsure of what feelings had led her to such a quick conclusion.

''Oh, really,'' he commented while averting his eyes from her for the time being. ''Well, in that case, you might want to take a quick peek over your shoulder and humor me, sweetpea.''

Kate slowly turned her head to the side so she could sneak a peek over her shoulder. Although Jack now stood nearer to the jungle, he still had his eyes on them and the deep ridges in his forehead proved her wrong.

''He must feel pretty damn good about himself,'' Sawyer muttered, causing for Kate's attention to refocus on him. She frowned at his words and he nodded at the radio that was still softly playing music in the background.

''He was just trying to help,'' she told him softly.

''Huh, I never expected the hero to take credit for others' tricks.''

''What are you talking about?'' she inquired, her eyes trailing right behind her voice as they locked on his.

He smirked. ''It's my radio, well, technically it isn't mine, but you know what they say, finders keepers. And I did find it, Freckles, on my second day here.''

She was quiet, not knowing whether she should thank him or not. Unfortunately for her, he took the decision out of her hands by going on. ''Before I forget, there's something else I have for you, too.'' He dropped one hand from her waist and reached into his pocket. ''I believe this is yours,'' he remarked while drawing back his hand and showing the lost item to her. ''I'm in a giving mood.''

''You took it?'' She looked at him, apparently taken back by the newfound revelation. Tears stung her eyes as she took the toy from him, tightly curling her fingers around it. ''Why?'' she demanded an explanation.

He shrugged. ''I told you I wanted to take a look at it.''

She let out a faint sob, not giving him another look as she turned and walked away from him.

x-x-x

From then on she made sure to keep the plane with her wherever she went, not trusting him enough to leave it behind. She even turned her back to him when she did take it out to look at, making him feel even more like an outsider than he already did. He had no one else on the island that would go against their prejudices and go out on a limb to give him as much as a chance. It took only one day without her company to make him realize how much he really cared.

_He missed her._

x-x-x

His apology came in the form of a letter, one she had read before.

_It was his letter._

She grabbed it and balled it up within her fist, her anger evident as she went in search of him. She dropped the paper ball in his lap. ''You're just like Jack!'' she yelled out in frustration.

He started to scramble to his feet. ''Now hold up, Freckles.''

''You think that just because I know your secret you should know mine! Well, let me tell you something, Sawyer, that's not how it works and you had no right, none at all!'' By now her cheeks were flushed and her eyes glazed with raw emotion. It was the way he found her most attractive and that was the only reason why he managed to keep his cool, though the part of him that just wanted to yell back at her was close to breaking through. ''I never forced you to tell me anything and you-'' She paused to take a deep breath. ''You can't make me tell you, you can't make me do anything,'' she announced with a steady voice, though it slipped when he detained her and brought her as close as he could to him. ''Are you sure about that, sweetheart?''

''I changed my mind,'' she commenced, ''You're nothing like Jack; I trust him and unlike _you_, he doesn't have this selfish urge to bring me down to his level and to break me down.''

He suddenly let go of her and she started to stumble backwards. He knew that she was going to fall, but he did nothing to stop it from happening. As she hit the ground he looked away. ''Just make an appointment with the Doctor; I'm sure he'll be able to kiss and make it all better,'' he said while turning around and leaving her behind.

x-x-x

That evening, Kate was the one who hid among the trees and observed him as he sat in front of a fire, one of his first. She moved closer, wanting to see what exactly he had in his hands. It took her a couple more steps to recognize, but remained silent as he crumpled it up and threw it into the crackling fire before him without even blinking. ''You can come out now, Freckles.''

Sheepishly, she stepped out of the shadows and into the moonlight. She studied him for a few more seconds before making up her mind and dropping herself down next to him in the sand. She glanced at him. ''Are you-''

''Always,'' he replied quickly. It was his turn to look at her. ''What about you?'' His eyes briefly dropped down to her lap where she had folded her hands together.

She shrugged up her shoulders as if their fight was nothing but a faint memory, though it would be a hard thing to forget. ''Just a few scrapes.''

He cleared his throat. ''Look, Freckles, I'm-''

''I know,'' she cut him off.

He nodded, his eyes returning to the flames in front of them. ''Why are you here? I thought we were in a fight?''

''We are. I just-''

''Suffered from a guilty conscience?'' he finished for her.

''Thought you might need someone,'' she offered. ''And I do feel guilty, Sawyer. You're nothing like Jack.''

''Damn right I ain't.''

Kate lowered her head, smiling. He did things to her, things Jack didn't, no matter how much she tried to fight it. ''I like you better,'' she finally said to him.

''Well, well,'' he southerly drawled, his eyes reflecting the satisfaction he got out of her statement.

She rolled her eyes. ''Don't read too much in to it; misery seeks company, that's all.''

''Whatever you have to tell yourself, Freckles.''

_Yeah, whatever she had to tell herself. _

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**Please review?(: **Now, I know that this probably isn't one of the most original or well written pieces out here, but overall I'm happy with how it turned out. It's all about turning something small into a big thing. :) I'll try working on my originality because obviously this idea has been used before. Anyway, thanks for taking the time to read this and I hope that you'll be so kind as to give me your honest opinion. If you see any mistakes, please point them out to me and they will be corrected. Thanks again and _thanks to the people who read my very first attempt at a Lost one piece (Killing Me) and thank you so much for leaving me with some encouraging reviews. :)_


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